The Force is With the Loons on Star Wars Night

EASTLAKE, Ohio - Former Central Michigan Chippewa Zach McKinstry had a four-hit night, and the Loons received home runs from Marcus Chiu and Jared Walker in a convincing 8-1 win over the Lake County Captains at Classic Park on Saturday night.
 
The win ends a three-game slide for the Loons, who shrugged off Friday's defeat on a walk-off home run with one of their best offensive outings of the season.
McKinstry has brought instant offense to the Loons' lineup since his return on May 24 from a sprained middle finger. The third-year pro is 6-for-12 in his first three games off the Disabled List with a double, a triple, a home run and three RBI. Saturday's game was the first four-hit game of McKinstry's pro career.
The Loons' shortstop had plenty of help throughout the lineup as Great Lakes fell one hit shy of equaling its season-high and tallied two three-run innings.
Marcus Chiu furthered a strong second month with a solo home run to left to give the Loons a 4-0 lead off Lake County starter Gregori Vasquez. Chiu extended his hit streak to 10 games, the longest for any Loons' batter this year, and has four long balls in that span. The 21-year-old's average on the hot spell is .333.
Chiu momentary enjoyed sole possession of the team lead in home runs with seven, a title he now shares with Jared Walker, who went yard in the ninth inning on a two-run shot to right-center off Tommy DeJuneas. Walker also tripled in the game as part of a 2-for-5 night. Eighteen of his 31 hits have gone for extra bases.
The pitching staff muted Lake County's bats to five hits. Right-hander Jose Chacin threw four scoreless in his second spot start of the season, and the Captains did not cross home plate until the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by Jose Medina off right-hander Aneurys Zabala. The Loons struck out 10 and walked three.
With the series tied at a game apiece, the Loons try and win two in a row for the first time since May 14-15 in a Sunday afternoon showdown at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team's home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.